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Whirlwind GA200L PIREP? RV-7

RV7ForMe

Well Known Member
Any RV-7 Drivers with the Whirlwind GA200L and the 180HP out there?
What do you guys think? I tried to look but there seem to be no recent posts about this prop. No good?

Looks pretty sexy.

Thanks!
 
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I have one on my 180hp RV-9A and it works great. No issues to report, it just props along.
 
How about on an 8?

I have a that prop on my RV8. It's good enough that it's the second plane I've used one on. The first plane (RV8A) really shined with this prop. I tried a Sensenich wood prop, then a borrowed Sensenich metal prop before buying the WW. Once it was dialed in, the performance was outstanding. I was getting a 200mph cruise at 2600rpm and it climbed 1700fpm with 2 pax and half fuel. This was with a 160hp O320.

I will say that it is a big PITA to set the pitch. The protractor is ****, and the prop should have indexing marks near the blade root to get you close,,, but doesn't.

For the new plane, I almost bought the Sensenich adjustable, but saw a post about the trailing edge delaminating. So, back to the WW. I modified the protractor so that it can't move after it's in place.

Also, the initial pitch is way too low (learned it on the first plane). The instructions say to start at 20 degrees. I set mine at 25, and can still easily reach 2700rpm. I'll have to play with it again once I get the pants and fairings on.
 
For the new plane, I almost bought the Sensenich adjustable, but saw a post about the trailing edge delaminating.
Yea that prop was high on my list as well that didn't sit well with me either.
I send you a PM.

I have one on my 180hp RV-9A and it works great. No issues to report, it just props along.

Thanks!


Anyone else wanna share?
 
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steve from Sensenich, here.
In all our composite blade manufacturing, there has been only ONE case of trailing edge splitting open on an aircraft propeller blade, and that was on an RV-12 propeller a number of years ago.
It was quite an odd notification with supporting photos and narrative of possible theories.
We did get the blade back and examined it thoroughly.

Root cause analysis found no issues with materials or process.
No corrective action was implemented because nothing out of spec.

We did replace both blades at no charge.

Have not had anything even vaguely similar reported since.
 
steve from Sensenich, here.
In all our composite blade manufacturing, there has been only ONE case of trailing edge splitting open on an aircraft propeller blade, and that was on an RV-12 propeller a number of years ago.
It was quite an odd notification with supporting photos and narrative of possible theories.
We did get the blade back and examined it thoroughly.

Root cause analysis found no issues with materials or process.
No corrective action was implemented because nothing out of spec.

We did replace both blades at no charge.

Have not had anything even vaguely similar reported since.

Hello Steve! While we are at it. I also read about a crack in the hub possibly due to electronic ignition? Can you clearing that up as well?
 
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RV6A O-320, and I just started working at Whirl Wind Propellers

I have an RV6A with 160hp O-320 and I just switched out the Sensenich aluminum prop for WW GA 200L 72" (Just started working at WW).

I will come back to this thread to link a more detailed report on the full experience and data collected soon, but initial thoughts:

The Sensenich was limited to 2600 rpm while the engine redline (and max power) is 2700 rpm; so the extra capability is nice. Since I try to operate my engine around 65% power, I only need the extra rpm when I fly over about 8,000 ft.

Installation: I am not the best handy-man, so installation took me longer than most probably would--but as people have already commented, the biggest annoyance is setting the pitch. I've heard that Sensenich has a solution for this although I haven't heard any reviews about it. It seems to me like it is for initial pitch only and if you want to re-pitch it I'm not sure if there's any aid. Overall I stumbled through the instructions, made notes on things to fix on the instructions (since I'll be doing all those updates now), and took about 4 hours to remove my aluminum prop, install my GA 200L, set the pitch 3 times before getting the blades the same, and wrapping it all up. (Pitch: 19.7?)

First flight: takeoff was overwhelmingly fun. Who knows for sure how much was placebo and how much was actual increased performance, but I lifted off the ground with the smoothest takeoff I've ever felt in that plane and took an elevator ride up to altitude in no time at all. It was at this point I realized the pitch was too low; when I leveled off it went straight past 2700 rpm.

I re-pitched it to 21.5? and that seemed to do the trick; I can barely get 2700 to 2710 rpm at sea level full rich wide open throttle (with leaning I may still be able to get close to 2700 around 8,000 ft -- will update with further testing).

Lighter, quieter, and looks nicer than the aluminum prop, and it feels like it performs smoother and better on both takeoff and cruise, but again: placebo may be taking over so I'll post the numbers when I do the real test flight.

Conclusion: you're starting off right by looking at composite props -- I'll never go back to aluminum. You certainly can't go wrong with this propeller, but I wish I could compare it to more than just aluminum to give a more complete comparison.
 
Hello Hunter! Glad you found this thread. Please report back to us :)

Unfortunately I didn't get the consistency I needed in my flight test to have a good objective comparison (very different conditions between the two days). From just 'knowing my airplane' I'd say I'm getting around 1 gph more efficient fuel burn at my typical cruise speed or 10 knts faster at my typical fuel burn.

I used to cruise 140 knts at 7.5 gph with the 70CM Sensenich, now I've noticed 140 knts at 6.3-6.8 gph or 150 knts at 7.6-8.0 gph. Since changing the pitch I haven't noticed a huge difference in climb between the two and I won't try to speculate unless I get some good data.

I'll keep you updated if I get some more concrete data (ideally I want to collect all the data at full throttle full rich so there's no inconsistency with my leaning--but I already know I can't do that without exceeding 2600 rpm on the Sensenich). I may also see how the GA200L-70" performs.
 
pitch

Hunter, What Pitch was the 70CM you had?
I am running a sensi 70CM6-0-74 on my 160 hp RV9-A, very interested in your results, as I am contemplating the change to a Ground Adj prop.
 
Unfortunately I didn't get the consistency I needed in my flight test to have a good objective comparison (very different conditions between the two days). From just 'knowing my airplane' I'd say I'm getting around 1 gph more efficient fuel burn at my typical cruise speed or 10 knts faster at my typical fuel burn.

I used to cruise 140 knts at 7.5 gph with the 70CM Sensenich, now I've noticed 140 knts at 6.3-6.8 gph or 150 knts at 7.6-8.0 gph. Since changing the pitch I haven't noticed a huge difference in climb between the two and I won't try to speculate unless I get some good data.

I'll keep you updated if I get some more concrete data (ideally I want to collect all the data at full throttle full rich so there's no inconsistency with my leaning--but I already know I can't do that without exceeding 2600 rpm on the Sensenich). I may also see how the GA200L-70" performs.

Thanks for reporting back Hunter. 1GPH seems like a lot. That would be awesome. Do you have EFIS numbers? Also why did you choose the shorter prop? I just realized that you are spinning 70" instead of the 72"
 
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